


always forward, never backwards

by LokiThisIsMadness



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Post Spider-Man Far From Home, Quentin Survived Far From Home, Quentin is his own warning, Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie) Spoilers, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 18:41:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19729522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiThisIsMadness/pseuds/LokiThisIsMadness
Summary: years ago, quentin beck had it all. a promising career, a fantastic job, a woman he would have done anything for. then, in a few moments, he lost everything. he lost it all to tony stark and after his passing, he's determined to get it all back. this time, no one will stand in his way. not the kid, not the avengers, no one.  what he hadn't counted on, however, was the fact that a meeting with an old flame would bring back the feelings he had so desperately tried to forget.could he truly have it all? money, power, fame and love?eventual quentin beck x pepper potts. set five years after far from home and avengers: endgame.





	always forward, never backwards

**Author's Note:**

> hey, everyone!  
> i couldn't help it but write this after watching far from home - i absolutely adored quentin and i knew i had to write something for him, especially to explore his past a little bit. i don't want to reveal everything about quentin and pepper's past together just yet - that will come later, but they have a relationship.. which ended badly for both of them. anyway, please, please let me know what you think and i hope everyone enjoys!

It smelt of burning rubber and smoke and yet, Quentin Beck is not satisfied.

  
_How could he be, after all?_

  
It had been too long - far too long, five fucking years, to be precise, and the most they've achieved is _**this**_. A _re they fucking kidding me?_ It's during moments like this that Quentin wonders whether he should have just shot the rest of his crew and then himself and call it a day, because surely anything would have been better than this. This was an humiliation, this was.. having died at Peter Parker's feet would have been much, much better than this.

  
_**A good illusion**_ \- yes, to anyone else, it might have been considered a fantastic work but.. not to him. Not when he had been defeated by a sixteen year old from fucking Queens, out of all places and had been forced to go into hiding, all in order for his plan to work.

  
_Of course_ \- it had been fucking satisfying to see it all happened on the news, to have ruined little Parker's life had been his greatest prize but it still wasn't enough.

  
No, not when Quentin had been so close to getting everything he had ever wanted and it had all been taken away from him, again, by Tony Stark's fucking protegee.

  
He could still picture the smug look on Stark's face as he fired him, as he took everything away from him - _you're deranged, Beck. I'm sure you'll find a job on a loony bin somewhere_ \- and he wanted nothing more than to whip it out.

  
Hey, not to take the merit away from this Thanos person - may his soul burn in Hell, for all of the innocent people who had lost their lives during the Blip - but.. he had hoped to be the one to destroy Stark, one and for all.

  
Still, someone had beat him to it and he had settled for Parker. An eye for an eye.

  
**_Suck on that, Stark, wherever you are. I hope you're watching this, motherfucker._ **

  
Once everyone knew who the little Spider-man was, there no way he'd ever have a peaceful life. He'd be haunted, wherever he went and Quentin would watch happily from the shadows, forever being known as the hero who had revealed the identity of the evil Spider-man.  
Eventually, he'd return and make a fantastic and slightly dramatic entrance, taking his rightful place as the next Iron Man. It would have worked, yes, if his coworkers weren't a band of freaking idiots. Sighing, Quentin approached William - the poor man was the closest and one of the few he trusted the most, if there was ever such a thing as trust - and stopped, arms crossed tightly around his chest. "Do you think this is enough? After five fucking years, do you think this is enough?"

  
Their tech had suffered a major attack - most of the drones had been destroyed by the Spider fucker and even five years later, they had been unable to get it all back.

  
They would never have anything as grand as the one they had back then, Quentin was sure of it. Even after so many sleepless nights - not to mention days, considering he couldn't possibly go out, at the risk of someone recognizing him and the entire plan going to hell - he hadn't been able to reciprocate EDITH completely - not without a proper lab.

  
The poor man had the decency to look away - neither of them managed to look at him for too long, not when it had been their fault that their planned had failed completely ( _not Quentin's, never Quentin's.. after all, he had spent far too long making sure everything was perfect, only to have it all ruined by a teenager in a jumpsuit and Nick fucking Fury_ ). To this day, he still couldn't believe it. Years of preparation.. gone to hell, all because a teenager decided he wanted to be fucking noble, instead of going after the girl he liked. That idiot. 

  
"I don't know, boss - we've been.. we've been doing this for weeks now. Maybe, it's time.." Stuttering, William waited for a reaction - as did everyone else around them. They knew better than to speak whenever he was speaking - he was the boss; he was the one who almost died for this whole fucking thing to work.. respect was a beautiful thing, after all. Respect made this whole thing work. Without respect, they had nothing.

  
That was what Tony fucking Stark had never gotten and what Quentin understood perfectly - you can't treat people as if they're trash, as if they're above you.. because one day, they might decide they'd have enough and that they want to fight back. "To give up?" Quentin finished the sentence for him, anger flashing through his expression for a moment, before he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. _Stop being an idiot, Beck. Patience is the key._

  
"After everything we've suffered? My friend, it's been five years. Five years since we've had to go underground, so Nick fucking Fury and his army of idiots wouldn't find us and put a bullet in each of our heads. I'm not going to give up. Not now, not ever. Giving up is not on my vocabulary - not after everything the boozy man child put us through. " His fist hit the table in front of William, making the other's coffee mug shake, coffee spilling all over his jeans.

  
_Good._ The fucking idiot shouldn't be enjoying a latte from fucking Starbucks when he was here.. trapped. Without everything he had ever cherished. That would change, soon enough. Walking away from William, Quentin clapped, climbing on top of a table. "Alright, everybody, listen up!"

  
See, this.. this is what made him different from Tony Stark. He was smarter, stronger - more handsome, yes, all of those things were true, but.. he was a leader. He knew how to value his team's strengths, when to ignore their weaknesses and.. when it was time for a speech.

  
"I know most of you think it's time to give up. That we're fighting for a lost cause - hell, I've thought that about a hundred times myself. And then I remembered.. then I remembered everything Tony Stark took from us. He took our lives. Our careers. Our families."

  
Every once in awhile, when he needed a reminder of why on Earth he was doing this, Quentin took out an engagement ring that he carried around on a chain and.. he reminded himself of why he was going this in the first place.

  
Stark had took everything from him, even her. He wouldn't get away with that, Quentin was sure of that. No matter what it took, he would make Stark pay.

  
"He expected us to move on - he expected to get away with it, like he always did, but.. let me tell you, he won't! Not while I'm still breathing. Tony Stark may be dead - bless the bastard who finally took him out, but.. we're still here. And we know that there's a way of getting to him - of destroying everything he ever build and that's through his technology. So, when I say I have a plan.. I have a plan! Who's with me?"

  
The cheers that he received from his team were all that mattered.

This.. this.. this made everything worth it. Soon enough, it would be the whole world cheering, not just his crew.

  
Jumping down from the table, Quentin grabbed his glasses, before assigning everyone their orders. "Janice, get me the outfit we're prepared. William, get the illusion ready - make sure it's as we prepared it. Victoria, be ready for anything. Gut, you're coming with me. After all, it's a long way to Stark Industries."

Disguised as one of the Stark associates - who was very, very far, far away from New York, Quentin couldn't believe at how easy he had been to infiltrate one of the supposed most secure buildings in New York. Stark really was a disgrace, wasn't he? Quentin would fill in where he had failed and eventually, he'd take over everything Stark had built.

He had not set foot in the building for seven years and.. it still looked the same. Exactly the same, exactly like the day it had been kicked out. He hadn't missed it - none of it, except for the person whose office was on the first floor. The same person who had rejected him - all because of Tony.. the same person who still made his heart skip a beat, anytime he thought of the fact he'd been seeing her again. He wasn't here for her, though. He was here for the tech, the same tech that Tony had stolen from him and.. that was all he wanted. Nothing else. Everything else had to remain in the past, where it belonged. Still, as he stood in her office - eyes laying on her for the first time in seven years, everything rushed back. The feelings, the anger, the sadness.. the betrayal. Once upon a time, he would have done anything for her. Now? Now, he wanted revenge.

"Hey there, Pep. We have a lot of catching up to do." Laying against her desk, Quentin removed the illusion when he was sure it was just the two of them in the room, grinning from ear to ear. It wasn't a friendly smile, though. It wasn't a smile shared with someone who had once meant the world to him - someone who would have become his wife, if Stark hadn't gotten in the way. It was the smile of someone who wanted revenge.

The glass fell from her hands instantly and for Quentin, that reaction was enough. It was time to have some fun.


End file.
